At the end of last night’s liveblog, there was the frustrated angst of how Pitt had played itself out of a 3 and even a 4 seed. I’m not buying it given the field and how weak it really is after the first couple of lines. If Pitt gets bumped to the four line, it will have more to do with geography, the number of Big East teams in the field and a sense of interchangeability between a lot of teams.
Still, if you are so inclined to worry, here are the teams you should be cheering to win today:
- San Diego State (over New Mexico)
- Northwestern (over Purdue)
- Kansas State (over Baylor)
- Minnesota (over Michigan State)
- Ole Miss (over Tennessee)
- St. Bonaventure (over Temple)
- Georgia (over Vanderbilt)
- Georgia Tech (over Maryland)
They have some great quality road wins but they have lost to some questionable teams and the ND blowout will hurt.
Again, seeding is nice, but it all boils down to match ups and style of play when you go into the tournament.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Pitt goes to the sweet 16 or further and I would not be surprised if they lose their opening game.
That’s why they call it “March Madness”!!!!
Marquette to beat Georgetown
WVU to beat Notre Dame, then win the BE Tourney
The first result simply takes away any momentum G’Town might have to jump Pitt for the “eye-test” folks. The second result probably gives a slight bump to Pitt’s RPI.
Pitt’s RPI is now at 15 (after last night’s loss).
Sacrilege!!!!!!
Never in a million years!!!!
Even if the TV is off.
Pantherman13: If ND beats WVU in an ugly game like last night, Marquette beats G’town and also ND for the championship, wouldn’t that help both Pitt’s RPI and our eye test? Just curious because I of all scenarios, that’s the easiest to stomach.
Of course, it’s all speculation because we don’t really know what the committee is going to do…and the effect on our RPI of any of the Big East games is not likely to be more than a place in either direction.
Wisconsin just lost (RPI 16 before the loss), and Tennessee (RPI 17) is losing by 1 in the second half.
I really hope Pitt can get out of the first weekend. If they do, then I think they have a chance to get back to the Elite 8. The second round game will be the toughest. Big East tournament wins are nice, but the NCAA tournament is what counts. A sweet 16 or better would be outstanding. Especially considering everybody, sand Jermaine, comes back and you have a great recruiting class coming in. Pitt will be in the top-10 all year.
Wannamaker was outstanding last night. It stinks that the lay-up at the end didn’t go down for him. He was a MAN all night. Stupid turnovers and couple missed assignments cost Pitt the game. The effort was there. Some fans were talking about a lack of effort last night, but I didn’t see it. I thought they played hard. Notre Dame is playing a tough brand of basketball right now. It is very difficult to defend for 35 seconds each trip. Regardless, Pitt was right there at the end.
This has been another outstanding year. I love this program. The future looks even brighter. On to the NCAA and hopefully the sweet 16.
In terms of seeding, I wouldn’t be surprised if it follows very closely with the RPI, and right now Pitt looks like a 4 seed. The games tonight will go a long way in determining if they stay in that position. For Pitt, it doesn’t really make much difference if they are a 4 or 5, since those two positions are likely to play each other in the second round anyhow. More important for this team is that they take care of business in the first round, whomever they play.
Pantherma13: I wasn’t insinuating tha an ugly WVU/ND game would help Pitt’s RPI. I know that and Pomery are all stats driven. I meant that it might (speculative) help Pitt’s eye test. WVU is considered a talented team and is highly ranked in the polls = good eye test. If they play as ugly as Pitt, the committee might overlook last night as “that’s just what the new ND does to teams.” Very speculative but hope you see what I was getting at.
I thought that away wins carried some weight in RPI which is why I thought a Marquette championship would be more helpful even though we only played them once. But I don’t know all of the formulas that go into it either. I just watch the rankings.
We seem to play better and with more intensity as the underdog. We were extremely cold and out of sync. Give credit to ND for their D, Gibbs got no open looks and Brown, what can you say, he is an enigma. McGhee seems to be in a slump offensively. Dixon has to stop throwing up threes.
Like most I am thrilled with this season, but will not be surprised if they stink or do great in the tournament.
Against ND two shots down the stretch were the difference. ND made them and we didn’t. Even as poorly as we played we still could have won. Joe Bendel said ND is the better team. They were the hotter team. Defensive lapses made the difference. If they play Pitt defense they will go far.
Let’s hope we get to the sweet sixteen and the Big East dominates.
Pitt is a young team with little tournament experience, will they beat the odds?
johnnyrocket, I couldn’t disagree with you more. Winning is about playing well and, well, about winning. A team’s focus should be on playing well regardless of the venue. We did not play well against ND. The BET is not like, “OK guys. Just go out there and loosen up in preparation for the real games next week.” It’s a matter of focus and discipline. Losing never bodes well except if a team needs a wake-up call. I don’t think that the ND game was a matter of being nonchalant on Pitt’s part. I think that certain weaknesses were exposed. After 30+ games, they, perhaps, cannot be corrected.
If you go be RPI ranking, Pitt (at 15) is a 4 seed. In fact, of those 5 teams, only Wisconsin has a lower RPI. On the other hand, I don’t believe any of those teams has the quality wins that Pitt has, in particular, the road win against Syracuse, and the wins against WVU and Villanova. I was a bit pessimistic at Pitt’s chances for a 3 seed yesterday, but I think Chas and others may be right that Pitt’s quality wins give them a solid chance at a 3 seed. A 5 seed looks very unlikely at this point.
Does it matter? Maybe – but probably only if Pitt makes it to the second weekend. I think the quality of teams drops off considerably after the first line, so if Pitt manages to win its first two games, I think they would rather play a 2 seed than a 1 seed in the 3rd round. Of course, any team that celebrates its 3rd round matchup before taking care of the first two rounds…well, we’re fans, not players, so we can do it!
With Jamie coaching, I know that the program will remain strong for the near future.